Abrading yarn



I 953 E. J. GRISET, JR 2,657,522

ABRADING YARN Filed March 11, 1952 a7- 34 as 4 4% Y 4 35/. in

IN VEN TOR.

lImwIJflrzIseZ Jr:

fiatented Nov. 3, W?

2,657,522 ABRADING YARN Ernest J Griset, Jr. Asheville, N. 0., assignor to American Enka Corporation, Enka, N. 0., a corporation of Delaware Application'March 11, 1952, Serial No 275,977

1 This invention relates to the manufacture of textile yarns and is more particularly concerned with the production of yarns having 'the a'ppearance of spun yarn but being formed of continuous filaments. I p

Spun yarn is produced by twisting together a plurality of staple length fibers; yarns so spun having a definite customer appeal based upon appearance and feel. The textile industry has long sought a way of producing from continuous filament yarns a thread having the appearance and feel of spun yarns oflike material; Inpursuing this objective, many inventions have been made with the result that is is now possibleto produce continuous filament yarns which closely resemble the appearance of spun yarns from the same material. Many difficulties 'yet remain, however, in'that the machinery best capable of producing good results is complexand expensive to build and maintain, while less expensive expedients tend to produce unsatisfactory results.

The usual procedure in simulating spun yarn is to produce the desired appearance by subjecting the continuous filament yarn to'an abrading action in its passage from a storage 'spoolor package to a collecting spool disposed thereabove. Most commonly this winding arrangement is used to impart twist to the yarn and, in the industry, the apparatus is known as an uptwister. Examples of the use of such machines for abrading are to be found in PatentsNos.

' 12 Claims. (Cl. 572) 1,959,142 to Taylor et al. and 2,260,314 to Halin.

Taylor et al. discovered that the quality of the abraded product could be improved if the thread were drawn through-an abrading annulus' which was rotated so as to cause abrasion in the plane of the abrading' annulus. Subsequent experiments indicate that'the theory of Taylor: etal. is sound. On the other hand, Taylor etallprovides separateapparatus for rotating the abrading anrelative movement between the thread and the abrading annulus occurs inthe plane ofa'the abrading annulus without resort to a separate drive for the abrading annulus. v

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent upon consideration of the fol- 2 unitconstructe'd according to the present inventioni Figure 2 is a view in cross section taken on the line 2--2 of Figure '1;

Figure 3 is a view in elevation of a modified type of abrading unit according to the present invention; Figure 4 is a view in cross'section taken on the line l l of Figure 3;'

Figure 5 is a View in elevation of still another abrading unit according to the present invention; and

Figure 6 is a bottom plan view of the form of the invention shown in Figure 5.

Referring now in greater detail to "Figures 1 and 2, the numeral It indicates a crossbar on the frame of an uptwisting machine on which yarn ii comprising a bundle of continuous filaments is drawn upwardly from a twisting bobbin 92 mounted for rotation'on a spindle assembly comprised of a spindle is mounted on a whorl is adapted to be rotated by a belt," not shown, as is well understood in the art. The yarn His drawn upwardly by a rotating take-up bobbin [5 and, in the thread path between the twisting bobbin I2 and take-up bobbin 15, the thread passes through a pig-tail guide It attached to the crossbar ii! then through a porcelain yarn guide I? which is fastened to a reciprocating traverse bar 18. The take-up bobbin it rests upon and is ro tated by a cork-covered roller l9 which is driven through a shaft 28. It will be recognized that-all of the foregoing description constitutes but a schematic summaryof the basic structures of a conventional up-twister. v

Due to the fact that thread is drawn from the outsideof bobbin I2 toward'the pigtail guide It, ballooning will occur about the vertical axis of the spindle Is and, in Figure 1, an attempt has been made to depict a fairly typical balloon. It is'an object of this invention to employ the ballooning phenomenon to assist in the production of better abrasion. I To thisen'd acage 21 is disposed coaxially above the spindle it in the thread path between the spindle is and the guide I 3. The cage 2| is comprised of a very light,.generally cylindrical structure having an. annular upper end portion 22 and an annular lower end portion 23 connected by a plurality of circumferentially spaced, vertically extending bars 25. The lower end portion .23 is an abrading annulus madeof suitableabrading material. The upper end portion 22 is mounted over a hollow bearing 25 for free rotation of the cage aboutthe bearing and for free movement of the cage vertically on the bearingfromthe low positionshown in vFigure 1 to a high position in which the end portion 22 is virtually at the top of the bearing 25, near a flange 26 of the bearing from which there extends a supporting bracket 27 suitably attached to a stud 28 depending from the crossbar it on the v frame .of the up-twister. At the bottom of the 3 bearing 25 there is attached a second abrading annulus 29 which has'its central aperture in registry with a central bore at 33 which constitutes a thread passage through the bearing 25.

It can now be seen that there is a vertical yarn passage from the twisting spindle l2 to the guide I5 which extends centrally through the abrading disc or annulus 23, centrally through the cage 2|, centrally through the abrading annulus 2t, and centrally through the bore 39 of the bearing 25. The thread does not move in a straight vertical path in operation, however, due to the fact that the ballooning of the yarn causes it to enter the central aperture of the annulus 23 at an angle which brings about an abrading action at the point designated P, in Figure 1. It is apparent that as yarn is unwound from end to end on the spindle l2, the balloon will correspondingly rise and fall and as it rises its horizontal radius will increase and as it falls it will assume the shape of that shown in Figure 1. This being the case, the thrust or angle of contact of the balloon on the bottom of the abrading annulus 23 will increase as the balloon moves up and will decrease to a minimum when the balloon falls to the position shown in Figure 1. It has been found that to produce uniform abrasion, it is necessary that the angle of contact change in proportion to the abrading speed, and it is with this theory in mind that the cage 24 is mounted for vertical movement and does in fact move upwardly and downwardly with the balloon. Thus, when the balloon moves up wardly it will tend to change the cutting angle against the bottom of the abrading annulus 23 and the position of the abrading annulus will be changed. Therefore, as the balloon rises, the angle of contact will increase which would normally increase the cutting action on the yarn but this angle of contact also increases the R. P. M. of the cage 24 which decreases the cutting action so that the result of the increase in angle of contact and R. P. M. will efiect a constant abrading action. In order to supplement the abrading action of the annulus 23, the annulus 29 is provided which when the balloon is in the position shown in Figure 1, a balloon of the character of that shown at Ila between annuli 23 and 29, will be formed and as the balloon H rises, it will cause balloon I la to flatten out and decrease the angle of contact whereas the annulus 29 is stationary which slightly decreases the abrading action. It is possible to omit annulus 29 andstill effect good results if the cage 2i is not permitted vertical movement in which case a higher degree of abrasion is imparted at annulus 23.

In Figure 3 there is shown another cage similar to the cage 2|. It is comprised of an annular upper end portion 3i, a lower annular end portion 32 which is an abrading annulus and circumferentially spaced intermediate connecting bars 33. The upper end portion 3| is mounted to rotate about a hollow bearing 3d which is held through a flange 35 from a'bracket 33 in the manner of the support of the corresponding parts of "Figure 1.

The hollow bearing 34 contains a shoulder. at 31 which supports the end portion 3| and through it, the entire cage. Depending from. the hollow bearing 33 there is a thread guide 33 which is located nearthe bottom of the cage in a fixed position. The cage itself is, of course, rotatable for the reasons set forth in connection with the operation of the apparatus of Figure 1. Thus, yarns entering the cage through the bottom closure 32 pass through, the central hole in the abrading annulus through the thread guide 38 and then into the hollow interior of the bearing 34. In view of the disposition of the thread guide 38 relative to the aperture in the abrading annulus 32, it has been found that excellent abrasion can be achieved. It is believed that these results flow from the fact that, as in Figure 1, as the balloon moves upwardly and the angle of contact of the yarn against the abrading annulus increases, the cutting action on the yarn would normally increase, but the R. P. M. of the cage is increased by the angle of contact which decreases the cutting action and thereby efiects a uniform abrasion. By the same token, when the balloon moves downwardly and the angle of contact is reduced, the cutting action would be reduced but the R. P. M. of the cage is reduced which would increase the cutting action and therefore the necessary compensation is eifected.

In Figure 5, there is shown an arrangement very similar to that of Figure 3 except that the abrading annulus 33 constitutes the bottom of the hollow bearing 43 and the lower end portion of the cage M is an annulus 32 having a radially knurled surface 43 which has little or no abrading efiect on the thread but which is suiiicient to cause the thread to drive the cage about the bearing 43. In this instance, the thread guide i is mounted on one of the bars of the cage 4! and hence rotates with the cage, whereas the thread guide 33 of Figure 3 is stationary within the cage.

The theory of operation oftheform of the invention shown in Figure 5 appears to be one of maintaining a constant angle of contact between the abrading annulus and the thread, and a constant relative rotation of the two irrespective of the position of the balloon. In view of the knurled surface 43 at the bottom of the cage 4|, the cage is regularly rotated by the balloon irrespective of the position of the balloon brought about by the vertical movement of the balloon. Even though the R. P. M. may vary slightly, the cutting angle remains constant and uniform abrasion results probablybecause the guide 44 and annulus 33 are stationary in a vertical plane so that the distance between them remains constant.

The devices shown in both Figures 3 and 5 are particularly well suited for. use in the present in: vention because they are simple in construction and what is veryimportant, guides 38 and, can be easily adjusted with respect to 'annuli 32 and 39, respectively. This regulates and effects the desired cutting angle which in turn controls the degree of abrasion.

What is claimed is:

1. In apparatus for abrading thread that in-- cludes a source of thread and a mechanism to draw the thread upwardly from the source under ballooning conditions, the improvementthat comprises at least one abrading annulus in the thread path between said source and the drawing mechanism, bearing means having a thread path therethrough above and aligned with the aperture of the abrading annulus, thread driven cage means mounted to rotate on said bearing in response to the thrust of the ballooning thread, said brading annulus being fixed to one of said means. 1

2. In apparatus for abrading thread that includes a source of thread and a mechanism to draw the thread upwardly from the source under ballooning conditions, the improvement that comprises at least one abrading annulus in the thread path between said source and the drawing mechanism, bearing means having a thread path therethrough above and aligned with the aperture of the abrading annulus, thread driven cage means mounted to rotate onsaid bearing in response to the thrust of the ballooning thread, said abrading annulus being fixed to one of said means, and a thread guide mounted within said cage means for relative rotation with said abrading annulus.

3. In apparatus for abrading thread that includes a source of thread and a mechanism to draw the thread upwardly from the source under ballooning conditions, the improvement that comprises an abrading annulus in the thread path between the source and the drawing mechanism and rotatable means driven by the ballooning thread to cause relative movement between the annulus and thread in the plane of the former.

4. In apparatus for abrading thread that includes a source of thread and means to draw the thread upwardl from the source under ballooning conditions, the improvement .that comprises an abrading annulus in the thread path between the source and the drawing means and means responsive to the vertical thrust of the ballooning thread to maintain abrading tension and relative movement between the thread and abrading annulus at a substantially constant product.

5. In apparatus for abrading thread that includes a source of thread and a mechanism to draw the thread upwardly from the source under ballooning conditions, the improvement that comprises an abrading annulus in the thread path between said source and the drawing mechanism, bearing means having a thread path therethrough above and aligned with the aperture of the abrading annulus, cage means mounted to rotate on said bearing in response to the thrust of the ballooning thread, said abrading annulus being fixed to and constituting the bottom of said cage.

6. In apparatus for abrading thread that includes a source of thread and a mechanism to draw the thread upwardly from the source under ballooning conditions, the improvement that comprises an abrading annulus in the thread path between said source and the drawing mechanism, bearing means having a thread path therethrough above and aligned with the aperture of the abrading annulus, cage means mounted to rotate on saidbearing in response to the thrust of the ballooning thread, said abrading annulus being fixed to and constituting the bottom of said bearing means.

7. In apparatus for abrading thread that in,- cludes a source of thread and a mechanism to draw the thread upwardly from the source under ballooning conditions, the improvement that comprises an abrading annulus in the thread path between said source and the drawing mechanism, bearing means having a thread path therethrough above and aligned with the aperture of the abrading annulus, cage means mounted to rotate on said bearing in response to the thrust of the ballooning thread, said abrading annulus being fixed to and constituting the bottom of said bearing means and another abrading annulus being fixed to and constituting the bottom of said cage means.

8. In apparatus for abrading thread that includes a source of thread and a mechanism to draw the thread upwardly from the source under ballooning conditions, the improvement that comprises abrading annuli having their apertures in the thread path between said source and the drawing mechanism, bearing means having a thread path therethrough above and aligned with the apertures of the annuli, thread driven cage means mounted to rotate about and to move vertically on said bearing means in response to the thrust of the ballooning thread, one of said abrading annuli constituting the bottom of said cage means and the other the bottom of said bearing means.

9. In apparatus for abrading thread that includes a source of thread and a mechanism to draw the thread upwardly from the source under ballooning conditions, the improvement that comprises an abrading annulus in the thread path between said source and the drawing mechanism, bearing means having a thread path therethrough above and aligned with the aperture of the abrading annulus, cage means mounted to rotate on said bearing in response to the thrust of the ballooning thread, and a thread guide depending from, and extending into, said cage means from said bearing means, said abrading annulus being fixed to and constituting the bottom of said cage.

10. In apparatus for abrading thread that includes a source of thread and a mechanism to draw the thread upwardly from the source under ballooning conditions, the improvement that comprises an abrading annulus in the thread path between said source and the drawing mechanism, bearing means having a thread path therethrough above and aligned with the aperture of the abrading annulus, cage means mounted to rotate on said bearing in response to the thrust of the ballooning thread, and an adjustable thread guide depending from, and extending into, said cage means from said bearing means, said abrading annulus being fixed to and constituting the bottom of said cage.

11. In apparatus for abrading thread that includes a source of thread and a mechanism to draw the thread upwardly from the source under ballooning conditions, the improvement that comprises an abrading annulus in the thread path between said source and the drawing mechanism, bearing means having a thread path therethrough above and aligned with the aperture of the abrading annulus, cage means mounted to rotate on said bearing in response to the thrust of the ballooning thread, and a thread guide supported by and within said cage means, said abrading annulus being fixed to and constituting the bottom of said bearing means.

12. In apparatus for abrading thread that includes a source of thread and a mechanism to draw the thread upwardly from the source under ballooning conditions, the improvement that comprises an abrading annulus in the thread path between said source and the drawing mechanism, bearing means having a thread path therethrough above and aligned with the aperture of th abrading annulus, cage means mounted to rotate on saidbearing in response to the thrust of the ballooning thread, and an adjustable thread guide supported by and within said cage means, said abrading annulus being fixed to and constituting the bottom of said bearing means.

ERNEST J. GRISET, JR-

No references cited. 

